"the mid-15th century and may be the oldest tarot card deck still in existence. The Visconti and Este tarot cards are not the only such cards in the Cary Collection. There are also French suited animal tarots from Belgium and some Marseilles type tarots. Also included are non-tarot cartomantic decks. In 2006, the Beinecke acquired a pack of cards that were enclosed in every packet of Black Cat Virginia cigarettes, and in 2007 a deck of seventy-eight photographic tarot cards was added to the collection. Cary Collection of Playing Cards The Cary Collection of Playing Cards, held at the Beinecke"
"Cartomancy Cartomancy is fortune-telling or divination using a deck of cards. Forms of cartomancy appeared soon after playing cards were first introduced into Europe in the 14th century. Practitioners of cartomancy are generally known as ""cartomancers"", ""card readers"", or simply ""readers"". Cartomancy using standard playing cards was the most popular form of providing fortune-telling card readings in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. The standard 52-card deck is often augmented with jokers or even with the blank card found in many packaged decks. In France, the 32-card piquet stripped deck is most typically used in cartomantic readings, although the 52"
"were chosen. Though the interpretation of various cards varies by region, the common significators for the future are as follows: Cartomancy Cartomancy is fortune-telling or divination using a deck of cards. Forms of cartomancy appeared soon after playing cards were first introduced into Europe in the 14th century. Practitioners of cartomancy are generally known as ""cartomancers"", ""card readers"", or simply ""readers"". Cartomancy using standard playing cards was the most popular form of providing fortune-telling card readings in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. The standard 52-card deck is often augmented with jokers or even with the blank card found in"
"Major Arcana The Major Arcana is the name given by occultists to the picture cards of a 78-card tarot deck. These cards which, in those decks also used for Tarot card games serve as a permanent trumps, are distinguished from the remaining cards, which are known by occultists as the Minor Arcana. The terms ""Major"" and ""Minor Arcana"" are used in the occult and divinatory applications of the deck (not by card players) and originate with Jean-Baptiste Pitois, writing under the name Paul Christian. Michael Dummett writes that the Major Arcana originally had simple allegorical or exoteric meaning, mostly originating"
"Suit of cups The Suit of Cups or Suit of Goblets is one of the four suits of Latin-suited playing cards. These are used in Spain (""Copas""), Italy (""Coppe"") and in tarot. The suit of hearts is derived from the suit of cups. These are sometimes referred to as chalices as well as cups. In tarot, it is part of what is called the ""Minor Arcana"". Like the other tarot suits, it contains fourteen cards: ace (one), two through ten, page, knight, queen and king. The suit represents the First Estate (the Clergy). Tarot cards are used throughout much of"
"of wands: Six of Wands Six of wands or batons is a card used in Latin-suited playing cards, which include tarot decks. It is part of what tarot card readers call the ""Minor Arcana,"" the six of wands cards in divination decks with illustrated pip cards, displays a laureled horseman bearing a staff adorned with laurel crown. Footmen with staves are at his side. Tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play tarot card games. In English-speaking countries, where the games are largely unknown, tarot cards came to be utilized primarily for divinatory purposes. The key meanings of"
"Six of Wands Six of wands or batons is a card used in Latin-suited playing cards, which include tarot decks. It is part of what tarot card readers call the ""Minor Arcana,"" the six of wands cards in divination decks with illustrated pip cards, displays a laureled horseman bearing a staff adorned with laurel crown. Footmen with staves are at his side. Tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play tarot card games. In English-speaking countries, where the games are largely unknown, tarot cards came to be utilized primarily for divinatory purposes. The key meanings of the six"
"that accompanied the Cary's donation and that stipulates that the money can only be used for the purchase of playing cards and related materials. The Cary Collection is not merely composed of standard playing cards, but also contains tarot cards as well as cards related to cartomancy, or the divination of one's fortune based upon interpretation of various cards. The Beinecke Library guards two of the earliest still-existing tarot decks in the world, the Visconti and the Este tarot cards. Of the two, the Visconti cards are probably the most well-known. These cards were commissioned by the Visconti family in"
"Tarot The tarot (; first known as trionfi and later as tarocchi, tarock and tarot) is a pack of playing cards, used from the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play games such as Italian tarocchini, French tarot and Austrian Königrufen. Many of these tarot card games are still played today. In the late 18th century, it began to be used in parallel for divination in the form of tarotology and cartomancy and specialist packs were developed for such occult purposes. Like common playing cards, the tarot has four suits (which vary by region: French suits in Northern"
"fortune telling decks in the mid-20th century. In the ""Industrie und Glück"" deck, each suit contains four face cards; the Jack, Cavalier, Queen, and King. The 5s through 10s in red suits and the 1s through 6s in the black suits are removed and 22 trumps are added for a total of 54 cards. In Central European tarock games, the order of the black suits from highest to lowest goes from K, Q, C, J, 10, 9, 8, 7 but the red suits goes from K, Q, C, J, 1, 2, 3, 4. The ""Sküs"" (The Fool), named after the"
"tarot cards are used primarily for divinatory purposes, usually using specially designed packs. The cards are traced by some occult writers to ancient Egypt or the Kabbalah but there is no documented evidence of such origins or of the usage of tarot for divination before the 18th century. The word tarot and German ""Tarock"" derive from the Italian ""tarocchi"", the origin of which is uncertain but ""taroch"" was used as a synonym for foolishness in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. The decks were known exclusively as ""trionfi"" during the fifteenth century. The new name first appeared in Brescia"
"Suit of swords The Suit of Swords is used in Latin suited playing cards, such Spanish, Italian and tarot decks. It corresponds to the Suit of Spades in standard decks. In tarot, it is part of what is called the ""Minor Arcana"". Like the other tarot suits, it contains fourteen cards: ace (one), two through ten, page, knight, queen and king. The suit represents the Second Estate (The Nobles). Tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play Tarot card games. In English-speaking countries, where the games are largely unknown, Tarot cards came to be utilized primarily for divinatory"
"and book of initiation not only in the minds of occult practitioners, but also (as we will see below) in the minds of new age practitioners, Jungian psychologists, and general academics. Major Arcana The Major Arcana is the name given by occultists to the picture cards of a 78-card tarot deck. These cards which, in those decks also used for Tarot card games serve as a permanent trumps, are distinguished from the remaining cards, which are known by occultists as the Minor Arcana. The terms ""Major"" and ""Minor Arcana"" are used in the occult and divinatory applications of the deck"
"Paper fortune teller A fortune teller (also called a cootie catcher, chatterbox, salt cellar, whirlybird, or paku-paku) is a form of origami used in children's games. Parts of the fortune teller are labelled with colors or numbers that serve as options for a player to choose from, and on the inside are eight flaps, each concealing a message. The person operating the fortune teller manipulates the device based on the choices made by the player, and finally one of the hidden messages is revealed. These messages may purport to answer questions (hence the name) or they may be activities that"
"Suit of coins The Suit of Coins is one of the four suits used in Latin suited playing cards, such as Spanish, Italian and tarot decks. It corresponds to the Suit of Diamonds in standard decks. In occult uses of tarot, Coins is considered part of the ""Minor Arcana"", and may alternately be known as ""Pentacles"", though this has no basis in its original use for card games. Like the other tarot suits, it contains fourteen cards: ace (one), two through ten, page, knight, queen and king. In occult and divinatory usage the suit is connected with the classical element"
"Wheel of Fortune (Tarot card) Wheel of Fortune (X) is the tenth trump or Major Arcana card in most Tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in divination. The card pictured is the ""Wheel Of Fortune"" card from the A. E. Waite tarot deck. A. E. Waite was a key figure in the development of the Tarot in line with the Hermetic magical-religious system which was also being developed at the time, and this deck, as well as being in common use today, also forms the basis for a number of other modern tarot decks. The"
"and court cards (jack), (cavalier/knight), (queen), and (king), plus the fool or excuse card, and 21 trump cards. In the 18th century the card images of the traditional Italian tarot decks became popular in cartomancy and evolved into ""esoteric"" decks used primarily for the purpose; today most tarot decks sold in North America are the occult type, and are closely associated with fortune telling. In Europe, ""playing tarot"" decks remain popular for games, and have evolved since the 18th century to use regional suits (spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs in France; leaves, hearts, bells and acorns in Germany) as well"
"four 14-card suits of swords (""spade""), batons (""bastoni""), cups (""coppe""), and coins (""denari""). Each suit has a king (""re""), queen (""donna""), knight (""cavallo"") and jack (unlabelled), pip cards numbered from 2 to 10, and an unnumbered card with an elaborate suit symbol which acts as the ace. Trumps and most pip cards have indices in modern Arabic numerals (for trumps, cups, and coins) or Roman numerals (for swords and batons). Unusually, in most games trump 20 outranks trump 21 (this may have been influenced by Bolognese games). The order of the trumps, in most games played with this pack, is:"
"Good Thirteen Good Thirteen () is a simple, German patience game, which is played using a French Rommé pack of 52 cards. Like most patiences, Good Thirteen is a card game for one person. The playing cards, a single Rommé pack of 52 cards, are shuffled and placed face down as a stock on the table. The card values of the pip cards correspond to the their face value; in addition, the Ace scores one, the Jack eleven, the Queen twelve and the King thirteen. The top ten cards are picked up and placed in a row on the table,"
"Parrot astrology Parrot astrology or Parrot fortune-telling () is a type of astrology popular among the Tamils of Tamil Nadu, Telugus in Andhra Pradesh, India and Singapore. It involves using green parakeets which are trained to pick up Tarot like fortune cards. The parakeets are trained specifically for this. A parrot astrologer/fortune teller typically sits beneath a tree to call or by the side of the road where people congregate in numbers. He has a cage which contains one or two trained parrots. The tarot like cards are either spread out or stacked in front of him. They are 27"
"Suit of wands The Suit of Wands is used in tarot decks and is part of what is called the ""Minor Arcana"". Like the other tarot suits, it contains fourteen cards: ace (one), two through ten, page, knight, queen and king. Tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play Tarot card games, where Wands corresponds to the suit of Batons. In English-speaking countries, where the games are largely unknown, Tarot cards came to be utilized primarily for divinatory purposes. In Aleister Crowley's ""The Book of Thoth"", the suit of wands is associated with the action of the Will"
"Eight Cards Eight Cards () is a simple, German patience game that is played with a French pack of 52 cards. Like most patience games, Eight Cards is a solitary card game. The cards, a single Rommé pack of 52 cards, are shuffled and placed in front of the player as a stock. The card values of the pip cards correspond to the face values; in addition the Ace is worth one, the Jack, Queen and King score 11 each. The top eight cards are picked up and placed on the table in the shape of a rectangle: Now pairs"
"Fortune's Favor Fortune's Favor is a solitaire card game which is played with a deck of 52 playing cards. It is so-called probably because the chances of winning are completely on the player's side. First, the four aces are removed from the deck and placed in a row to form the bases of the foundations. These foundations are built up by suit to kings. Below the foundations, two rows of six cards each (or any preferred arrangement of twelve cards) are dealt. These form the bases of the twelve tableau piles. The top cards on the tableau piles are available"
"Ace of Cups Ace of Cups is a card used in Latin suited playing cards (Italian, Spanish and tarot decks). It is the Ace from the suit of Cups. In Tarot, it is part of what card readers call the ""Minor Arcana"", and as the first in the suit of Cups, signifies beginnings in the area of the social and emotional in life. Connected with the number 4, 40, 400, 4000. Tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play tarot card games. In English-speaking countries, where the games are largely unknown, Tarot cards came to be used primarily"
"of the game developed in the 16th century and may have been adapted from Chinese culture and religion. Kau cim Kau Cim, Kau Chim or Lottery poetry () is a fortune telling practice that originated in China in which the querent (person asking the question) requests answers from a sacred oracle lot. The practice is often performed in a Taoist or Buddhist temple in front of an altar. Kau Cim is often referred to as Chien Tung or Chinese Fortune Sticks by westerners. In the US, a version has been sold since 1915 under the name Chi Chi Sticks. Kau"
"Queen of Cups Queen of Cups is a card used in Latin suited playing cards (Italian, Spanish and tarot decks). It is the Queen from the suit of Cups. In Tarot, it is part of what tarot card readers call the ""Minor Arcana"". Tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play tarot card games. In English-speaking countries, where the games are largely unknown, Tarot cards came to be utilized primarily for divinatory purposes. The card depicts a mature woman of fair-complexion and golden hair who holds a lidded cup or chalice. She is described as a model of"
"Talon (cards) A talon (; French for ""heel"") in card games is a stack of undealt cards that is placed on the table to be used during the actual game. Depending on the game or region, they may also be referred to as the stock, widow, skat, tapp, dobb or kitty. In 1909, Meyers Lexicon described the talon as """"the cards left over after dealing..."""" In games of chance, such as Pharo it is """"the stock of cards which the banker draws on"""". The talon is usually a pack of cards, placed face down, in the middle of the card"
"indications that the cards were used for anything but games anywhere other than in Bologna. As Dummett (1980: 96) notes, ""...it was only in the 1780s, when the practice of fortune-telling with regular playing cards had been well established for at least two decades, that anyone began to use the Tarot pack for cartomancy."" The belief in the divinatory meaning of the cards is closely associated with a belief in their occult properties: a commonly held belief in the 18th century propagated by prominent Protestant clerics and freemasons. One of them was Court de Gébelin (see below). From its humble"
"The High Priestess The High Priestess (II) is the second trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks. This card is used in game playing as well as in divination. In the first Tarot pack with inscriptions, the 18th-century woodcut Marseilles Tarot, this figure is crowned with the Papal tiara and labelled ""La Papesse"", the Popess, a possible reference to the legend of Pope Joan. This Tarot card was originally called ""La Papesse"", or ""The Popess"". Some of the cards directly linked the woman on the cards to the papacy by showing the woman wearing a ""triregnum"" or"
"they also had magical or divinatory uses. In modern settings, stones or tablets with runes inscribed on them are cast on a mat or cloth to discern future events or path a problem or issue will take. Runes are also used by some witches and other practitioners of divination. Tarot cards have been greatly popularized, but can be often regarded solely as entertainment. Traditional decks are available in chain bookstores. New decks also frequently appear in New Age bookstores. Though not requiring psychic abilities, Tarot cards can be used as a psychic or cold reading tool and Tarot readings are"
"Tarot Nouveau The Tarot Nouveau, French Tarot Nouveau or Bourgeois Tarot deck is a pattern of tarot cards. As such it differs from those tarot decks used in fortune-telling, such as the Tarot of Marseilles and Rider-Waite decks, in that the Tarot Nouveau is designed solely for playing the various tarot card games for which the 78-card tarot deck was originally devised, such as the game of French Tarot. In the French language, this deck is often called the tarot à jouer or playing tarot. This usage is distinct from cartomancy and other divinatory purposes, for which the tarot is"
"and the element of fire. Suit of wands The Suit of Wands is used in tarot decks and is part of what is called the ""Minor Arcana"". Like the other tarot suits, it contains fourteen cards: ace (one), two through ten, page, knight, queen and king. Tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play Tarot card games, where Wands corresponds to the suit of Batons. In English-speaking countries, where the games are largely unknown, Tarot cards came to be utilized primarily for divinatory purposes. In Aleister Crowley's ""The Book of Thoth"", the suit of wands is associated with"
"Knight of Wands Knight of Wands or Batons is a card used in Latin suited playing cards which include tarot decks. It is part of what tarot card readers call the ""Minor Arcana"". Tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play tarot card games. In English-speaking countries, where the games are largely unknown, Tarot cards came to be utilized primarily for divinatory purposes. The questing knight, this man traditionally signifies travel, and progress. This also refers to new ideas and inventions. He looks forward, intelligent and knowledgeable, and yet ready for battle and full of fire. The reversed"